


White Wolf

by Drowned_in_Feels



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adjusting, Bucky dealing with his past, Bucky kind of misses Steve in one paragraph, Fighting, Gen, I really don't know what to tag for this one, Wakanda, but I don't think that's enough to classify as Stucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 14:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14380155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowned_in_Feels/pseuds/Drowned_in_Feels
Summary: Bucky doesn't like to be called "White Wolf" and here is how they came up with the name.





	White Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> I was sooooo excited about Bucky in then end-credit scene that I started writing this when Black Panther came out but I've only just finished it now. It's not much but I hope you enjoy it anyways.
> 
> Please note: English is not my native language. I apologise for every spelling, grammar or punctuation mistake I might have made.

They called him the White Wolf. Bucky wasn't too fond of that name. That was because it kept him from feeling like he belonged to Wakanda. After all those years of being a lonely fighter he just wanted to forget his past and fit into this new society. However, that name kept him from forgetting his burdens.

First of all, it was a constant reminder of the crimes that he had committed in his past. The White Wolf sounded like the name of a warrior and that was the one thing he didn't want to be anymore. It sounded like they were calling him Winter Soldier all over again and it painfully reminded him of his past every time they addressed him like that.

On the other hand, Bucky desperately wanted to fit in. He wished not to be an outcast anymore and by pointing out his difference to the rest of Wakanda every time that they used the name, it made him feel isolated. Of course, skin colour was only a trivial matter but it still made him different.

Shuri had once explained to him that he should feel honored that they gave him such a powerful name. It meant that they accepted and respected him. Bucky appreciated that but he still wished that they had chosen a different name.

They came up with it when they saw him fighting for the first time. After recovering from being de-frosted, Shuri had advised him to start working out in some way in order to maintain his physical strength. Bucky wasn't familiar with any other form of working out than fighting. Or maybe he used to be familiar with some other types but that was so long ago, he didn't remember it.

So, he requested a fighting partner. It wasn't hard to find a volunteer. Most Wakandans were thrilled to test out the new one-armed guy's fighting skills. They were curious about how a guy like him could have the reputation for being such a good fighter. And of course, he had that reputation, even though he was a stranger in this new community. After all, Wakanda had access to international news broadcasts so his dark past really wasn't a secret.

However, Bucky had found out that most people here didn't really care about what he had done in the past or weren't even bothered enough to find out all about it. All they knew was that he was a fighter so they wanted to see him fight.

When the day came and Bucky was going to have his first fight, a huge crowd had gathered around a circular open space which had been chosen as his work-out ground. Bucky wasn't too happy about that. He despised the attention he was getting. He just wanted to live a calm, quiet life and have a fight every now and then, just to keep in shape.

Shuri had selected his first fighting partner. She had figured that since he was still not fully recovered, he should go up against a rather easy partner first. The person in question was a scrawny, tall guy in his early twenties who looked like he had never won a fight before.

Bucky took him out in less than a minute. He didn't knock him out but after a few precisely planted kicks from Bucky, his opponent realised that he didn't stand a chance and gave up. Bucky respected him for that decision.

His next partner was heavily cheered upon when he entered the circle and just from the look of him, Bucky knew immediately that this wasn't going to be as easy. First of all, he was standing in front of a giant. Every part of his body was packed with muscles and Bucky could read from the malicious grin on his face that he hadn't lost a fight in a long time. Maybe Shuri thought that he was already ready for such a challenge or maybe, she just wanted to see him struggle. Bucky shot a glance in her direction. She was standing at the edge of the crowd, laughing. She definitely knew what she was doing to him in this scenario.

In his mind, Bucky was going through different strategies on how to win this fight, from which angle to approach him best and where to find his weak spots. Then, he had to remind himself that this fight wasn't about winning but about staying fit and about getting used to fighting without his left arm.

In the beginning, the fight was even. They both managed to land some strikes, they both took some blows. They were going easy on each other, testing out the other's abilities, trying to find patterns in the other's attacks. Bucky was surprised that his partner went slow on him. From his appearance, he had rather judged him as the kind of guy who would put all of his strength into fast, hard strikes and then try to knock him out as quickly as possible. Bucky gained respect for his partner for contradicting his expectations.

Eventually, Bucky started to strike more rapidly but his partner knew how to block him well and simply responded with harder strikes himself. So Bucky countered with even quicker and harder blows. He even seemed to be able to get the upper hand! He could hear some cheers from the crowd but he wasn't paying attention to them. He was focusing on his opponent who was trying not to be overwhelmed by the frequency of Bucky's blows. He only stroke back every now and then when he got the chance but Bucky managed to block him most of the time.

Everything was going unexpectedly well for Bucky until he made one fatal mistake. His partner was swinging his right fist at Bucky, aiming for the left side of his head and instinctively, Bucky raised his left arm to block the blow. Unfortunately, he didn't have his left arm anymore.

His partner hit him against the head with full force. Bucky went down. His face landed on the ground, sand scraping against his skin. He let out a groan and tried to get up again.

Unfortunately, he felt a heavy weight pressing down on his chest. He looked up, squinting against the sun. His opponent had planted his feet on Bucky's body and was now grinning down on him. He wanted to try and push him off but with only one arm, he doubted it would be possible. Of course, he could try using his legs to wrap them around his partner and throw him off his balance but he could tell that the other man's pure strength was simply too overwhelming. In this case, Bucky's strategy and technique were overpowered by his opponent's brute force. He was defeated.

Bucky stopped struggling against his partner's weight on his chest and lay flat on his back, a clear sign of giving up. The other man stepped down and helped Bucky get up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear the crowd starting to go wild.

“Good fight”, Bucky said, “Thank you.” He held out his hand.

His partner shook it. “Thank you, too.”

Then Bucky turned to face the crowd, finally taking in the noise they were making. There was applause, chanting, cheering and overall excitedness. That was when he first heard his new name.

“White Wolf!”, somebody shouted, barely audible over the sounds of the crowd. But people picked it up quickly. Soon, they were all shouting the name in unison.

Bucky didn't know what to do. What were they expecting from him? He felt overwhelmed so he decided to do the only logical thing he could think of: He turned around and left.

As he was trying to get through the crowd that had surrounded the fighting ground, people kept patting him on the back, complimenting him and even congratulating him, all while using his new name. Bucky just wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

Shuri caught him before he could get away completely. She grabbed him by his shoulders and turned him around. “Oh my god, that was incredible!” She was smiling with glee, her face filled with elation and – Bucky wasn't sure if he was misinterpreting her expression or not – pride.

“I lost”, Bucky stated.

“You don't understand!” Shuri shook him gently. She could barely contain her excitement and wanted him to understand why everybody else was just as excited as she was. “Nobody has ever come this close to beating that guy in a fight. He's one of the best fighters in all of Wakanda! When I chose him to compete against you, I just wanted to mess with you! I thought he was going to take you out in a couple of seconds! But then you were so good and you almost won. It's just so incredible, I can't get my head around it..” She shook her head in amazement.

Bucky didn't how to react, he felt uneasy, so he made up an excuse to get away from Shuri and the crowd to reflect on the events of the day.

 

After that day people wanted him to fight more. Or at least they wanted to watch him fight more. Bucky wasn't too happy about all the attention. He didn't know how to behave with all those eyes on him, observing his every single move. He remembered that he used to be so much more confident, a long time ago, before they turned him into a monster. Things were so much easier back then; he truly missed the good old days when it was just him and Steve making their way through life. If Steve were here with him, Bucky was sure that he could make him feel more at ease, more comfortable, like he used to all those years ago...

But he didn't want to waste time reminiscing on times that were long gone, he had to focus on his present. And there was one pressing matter he had to take care of. “Shuri, I think I'm going to need a new arm.”

She replied smiling: “You're lucky I've already been working on something for you.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! :)  
> Please leave feedback, even if you didn't :P


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